Slashdot videos: Now with more Slashdot!

View

Discuss

Share

We've improved Slashdot's video section; now you can view our video interviews, product close-ups and site visits with all the usual Slashdot options to comment, share, etc. No more walled garden! It's a work in progress -- we hope you'll check it out (Learn more about the recent updates).

RedEaredSlider (1855926) writes "An asteroid that once was seen as a danger to the Earth may soon be a once-in-a-century opportunity to get a close look at one — and learn more about the ones that really are a hazard.

The asteroid is called Apophis. It's a near-Earth asteroid that is a type called a chondrite, essentially a stony body that has a high silicate content and few metals. It is about 330 meters across, and it's due to pass the Earth in 2029.

Dan Durda, principal scientist in the department of Space Studies at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, noted that the the fact that the asteroid was coming so close — no less than about 29,450 kilometers (18,300 miles) away — offers a chance to get a close look. So he sent a proposal to NASA, which is considering a probe to chase Apophis down and do a seismic study as it swings by."Link to Original Source

30000km away is next to nothing on an astronomic scale.Geostationary satellites orbit at 35786 km height orbit.Too close for comfort. This satellite is projected to pass so close to earth that it could crash with satellites in orbit !But it's amazing that men is able to detect as asteroid that small 330 meters across, that will take another 18 yrs to pass through.I say forget about studying it. 18 yrs is enough time that we should instead figure out a way to destroy it, as an exercise of preparation against